Television

Monday, March 11, 2019

Drug, Alcohol, Suicide Deaths in U.S. Highest Since 1999

According to The Crime Report, the number of deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide in 2017
hit the highest level since the collection of federal mortality data started in
1999, according to an analysis by two public health nonprofits, the Trust for
America’s Health and the Well Being Trust reported by the New York Times.
The two groups parsed the latest data from the federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. More than 150,000 Americans died from alcohol and
drug-induced fatalities and suicide in 2017. Nearly a third — 47,173 — were
suicides. The grim statistics are fueled by synthetic opioid deaths.
Twenty years ago, fewer than 1,000 deaths a year were attributed to fentanyl
and synthetic opioids. In 2017, more than 1,000 Americans died from synthetic
opioid overdoses every two weeks, topping 28,000 for the year. Most of the
increase occurred in the preceding five years, when such deaths rose tenfold
and the opioid epidemic became the leading cause of death for
Americans under 55.

West Virginia and New Mexico had the highest number of
deaths, the analysis showed, with Mississippi and Texas the lowest. By region,
the Northeast had the highest opioid death rates followed by the Midwest. The
South’s rate was nearly half that of the Northeast. John Auerbach of Trust
for America’s Health said that though doctors and drug companies have been
taking steps to control opioid addictions, patients who are addicted to prescription
opioids often shift to synthetic ones, like fentanyl, which is 50 times more
potent than heroin. Fentanyl has also snaked its way into other drugs like
cocaine, Xanax and MDMA, widening the epidemic. Suicides by gun increased
22 percent over the last decade. Guns were used in nearly half of the nation’s
47,173 suicides in 2017.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or postions of any county, state or federal agency.